MAM
Guest Column: ‘Cancel culture’ or ‘mob culture’ – a thin line of difference
Mumbai: What is cancel culture? “Cancel culture is a way of expressing dissent or the practice of withdrawing support for (cancelling) any offensive or objectionable content or action of that person.”
Cancel culture could actually champion pro-social movements like the fight against gender discrimination or racism.
Yes, expressing disapproval and freedom of speech is our right, however, this particular culture in India has taken a malicious turn fueled by the political climate breeding intolerance.
Social media’s penetrating gaze seems like a modern form of mob rule that is bound to have major implications for brands and marketers. The internet, (in particular, social media) provides a platform to share views and offers an outlet for groups excluded from traditional institutions – such as politics, education, economy, and media – to have a say. Every citizen with access to the internet can now write an opinion piece, share their story or behave like a self-appointed member of a jury who rips apart anything that is slightly pointed or uncomfortable. This is making creatives and brands cautious about the choices they make. In fact, anything from the story to the people we use as cast, the names in the story, background setups, and even clothes can cause unrest. But the fact is if someone has to find faults, they will. You can never please everyone.
We must also remember that internet trolling is time-bound. It will fade almost as soon as the hype it creates. Ideally, brands should just wait until the dust settles. What would be even better is if a brand decides to stick to its ground because it makes a better impact and is looked at as an authentic voice as compared to a brand defending its case or actually listening to faceless trolls and pulling down a communication. Because when brands retract, then it feels as if they didn’t have conviction in what they have put out there. It also makes these trollers and haters stronger and brands weaker. Why? Well HATE is a more powerful emotion than LOVE. And that’s why for Love to win, it needs to work harder. Hate comes easy.
And brands need to understand that in today’s public viewing people feel compelled to post a response to anything and everything they see. It could be a show, an interview, or an ad.
Ever since the physical world went into lockdown, people have been spending a serious amount of time online. And this has increased the cultural impact of the internet on society and is bound to have major implications not just for brands but content in general. A single post or a tweet has the power to bring change- from forcing celebs to apologise, to bringing down the market, or holding service brands accountable, and even stirring in a big political debate. Put another way, ‘cancel culture’ represents the voice of the voiceless. But when cancel culture is used negatively, it prevents open debate which is the basis of democracy. After all, different perspectives create social progress. In an age where you comment first and think later, agencies would do better only when they think through every possible scenario before hitting the share button.
But to specifically talk about, what happened with Fabindia- it is a clear case of being brainwashed to believe that a language is being marginalised., which it isn’t. I’m sorry but this is advertising. What looks good is what sells. That’s why we use good-looking people or design things in a particular manner. Similarly, writers choose their styles. Some like hard-hitting, some poetic, and some factual. Doesn’t make any one of them right or wrong. And popular culture influences advertising, taglines. Why did Hinglish happen? Yahi hai right choice baby. Or No Ullu-Banaoing. Or Ye Dil Mange More…..What are these? Memorable, engaging and effective communication. How come we never said it was the denigration of English or Hindi? We would love to believe that this has nothing to do with the basic grain of our society but it does. We are gradually becoming haters. We all know that Hindi and Urdu have coexisted beautifully over the years. Why is it that we have a problem now? Ever given that a thought? What has changed? Who has changed? And why have we changed? We know languages evolve because of the ease of use, the sonic nature of words, or popular culture influencing the use of a mix of languages.
We must also remember that the expression – ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’ is meaningless. The word is ‘Riwaj’ and not ‘Riwaz’. Replacing the ‘j’ with the ‘z’ sound because someone likes the sonic feel of it is actually not cool but wrong. Riwaj means ‘ritual’ or ‘repetitive action’ which technically all festivals are. But the point is, if you as a brand believe in communication, stick to it, grow a spine, and don’t get pushed by haters and trollers to change it. Consumer activism is on the rise and brands cannot hide from it. So accept it, move on, and if need be have a crisis management process to fix it. Simple.
(Anupama Ramaswamy is the managing partner and national creative director, Dentsu Impact. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
Brands
Creative Intelligence: Using AI to Predict Which Ads Will Actually Convert
Priyanka Aeron, Director & Co-founder of Thrive Global AI
MUMBAI: In a heavily populated digital landscape, simply being creative with your advertising will not guarantee that your ad will be successful. In fact, brands today are producing more content than ever. However, very little of that results in actual engagement or sales. However, Creative Intelligence, powered by AI, is fundamentally transforming the advertising industry.
Creative Intelligence utilizes data, machine learning, and statistical behavioral insights to analyze and predict how well a creative asset will perform prior to it being published. Therefore, marketers no longer have to rely on either their gut instincts or post-campaign analytics for making informed decisions before production. That said, AI-powered creative intelligence greatly improves results and decreases wasted dollars spent.
Moving Beyond Guesswork
In the past, making ads was a mix of gut feeling, experience, and A/B testing. These methods were useful, but reactive by nature. People have already spent their budgets by the time the results are looked at. AI models can find patterns that are linked to higher engagement and conversion rates by looking at huge datasets. These datasets can include things like past campaign performance, audience behavior, and visual elements like color, composition, and facial expressions. This helps marketers guess which ads will do well even before they go live.
Decoding What Truly Drives Conversions
AI-powered creative intelligence allows for an evaluation of advertisements that is not limited to the basic data but also explores the elements of an effective advertisement through subtle reactions; clarity and directness of the ad message and how well the ad captures audience’s attention in the first three seconds. AI can also provide insights into the successful use of advertisements directed to human faces, which connect through eye contact based on media channels, and how advertisements that utilize shorter but clear calls to action may produce more clicks from certain populations. The insights, provided through AI, provide marketers with the ability to think beyond creating more advertising material and additionally create more effective ad campaigns that actually convert.
Personalization at Scale
Consumers expect relevance more than ever. Irrelevant mass messaging is not going to work in a society inundated with information. Hyper-personalization, using AI, allows companies to create content that suits individual segments within their target markets based on their demographics, interests, and behaviors. Rather than having one single message that aims to reach everyone, brands can have many versions of their messages tailored to each segment within the market. Such flexibility is what makes campaigns successful nowadays.
Faster Iteration, Better Results
Another advantage to using AI in creative decision-making is speed. Companies must improvise because their campaign cycles are shorter than ever before, and having the ability to iterate rapidly is more important than it has ever been. There is no greater way to do this work than through AI, as new technologies give brands the ability to test multiple creative avenues and figure out which ones are working well. This reduces a lot of the testing that companies would otherwise have to do and makes the process faster.
With AI, brands can also make creative changes in real-time during a campaign, allowing the, to make vital decisions and adjust their creatives, rather than waiting out. This allows for faster adaptability, well-tested campaigns and reduced lost ad spend.
The Human-AI Collaboration
Even though AI is capable of performing certain tasks, its purpose is not to eliminate human creativity. Successful campaigns require human collaboration with computer intellect since both complement each other. While computers are capable of dealing with massive amounts of information, discovering patterns, and providing predictions, humans are the one to inject stories and emotions into campaigns.
The Future of Advertising
As the complexity of advertising becomes harder with the passage of time, Creative Intelligence will play a significant role in helping marketers formulate a strategic approach. The yardstick that will set standards for determining whether a marketing firm has fulfilled its responsibilities will be the forecasting of future outcomes, as well as personalized content and optimization of creative elements in real-time. In contrast to the existing scenario where the campaigns remain fixed, these campaigns will be capable of adjusting themselves according to the customer interacting with the brand, as well as other trends on social media channels. This will enable brands to offer customers an engaging experience that will exceed expectations. The biggest hurdle marketers will face will be finding ways to utilize these capabilities without compromising branding and enhancing the creativity of the team involved.
